Relationship w/food & Mistakes

I heard this the other day:

"How we feel in her bodies affects how we perceive the world around us."

How true is this?? When we feel fat or old or tired, we stay home, feel introverted and feel less motivated. In contrast, when we feel fit or young or full of energy, we usually feel so invigorated that we make more plans and become an extrovert.

I used to be in weight watchers, and it was decent for learning how to portion your food. I felt my knowledge of nutrition had moved past what they taught me and stopped going, but a few of the lessons from the leaders stuck with me. One was - whether you lose or gain, you are still the same person. You shouldn't hate yourself for a bad week, you should learn from it. People have relationships with food whether they want to believe it or not. Some turn it into a control thing - whether it be I can eat as much as I want or I can eat as little as I want. Sometimes it's a feelings thing - literally, you eat your feelings. (Which, as we all know, doesn't do anything.) And sadly, sometimes it's a boredom thing - literally a few minutes with nothing to occupy your time ... and then "hey, how did this twinkie get into my hand?" For the food 'enlightened' - 75-85% of the time, you should be looking at your food as fuel.

I really detest the word diet only because it's become synonymous with deprivation and goals that have an end-date. (If you modify your behavior to get a better result, you have to continue that behavior to maintain it, not go back to your previous behaviors once you reach it!) How many people do you know associate dieting with NOT having something or constantly yo-yo unhappily? A healthier alternative to the dieting seesaw game is to change your vocabulary. Instead of dieting, change your lifestyle! And if you do still 'diet' - consider each change you make as a long-term change.

Some tips?

1. When you decide to eat healthy, diet, or change your lifestyle - remember it's YOUR decision. Don't focus on deprivation or foods you can't eat. It's only going to make you feel like you want to do what you can't do.
2. Do not take the easy route to feeding your emotions -- to your pantry/nearest fast food joint/desk drawer. You have to learn the difference between a hunger feeling and an anxiety feeling -- for some people, they are the same!
3. If you go to a restaurant for a meal and it's replacing a meal you would otherwise eat at home -- choose a simple fuel-dish (chicken & rice, salad w/lean protein, etc) instead of a "cheat" meal ... which is the next point ...
4. Plan your cheat meals ahead of time.
5. Learn when you are hungry. Ideally, you should eat every few hours and add some protein to every meal.

For a quick reference if you have a healthy relationship with food - try this quiz:
Healthy Relationship with Food?

Be aware of what you eat. The simplest way to do this would be - prepare your own food. If you are at a restaurant - be that guy and change up what's on the menu by asking to remove sauces (or have them on the side), etc.

Conscious eating requires commitment and awareness. And back to my original point. Learn from your mistakes! And remember - everyone makes them. We're human! Why do you think they make so many types of erasers?

create the illusion

“We're born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone.”
Orson Welles

To Blackberry or not to Crackberry ...

... that is the question. Recently, I took stock in just how many of my friends were updating their facebook statuses 'via blackberry'. Over half of the posts on my main page were from 'blackberry' posters. And I noticed at least 4 people recently chose the Blackberry as their phone-of-choice when upgrading their phones ... despite claiming financial situations otherwise. This led to a few discussions with blackberry owners - mainly: why do you feel you need a crackberry?

Most answers range from work, to scheduling of daily tasks, to quicker responsiveness (with the inability to sit at a computer). Two recent blackberry converts -- my boyfriend and a co-worker -- are always on the go and need to respond to emails quickly for their jobs. I'd agree that they have a good reason to own one, but most of the rest of the owners .... I'm at a loss.

The fact that the people working at mobile stores (verizon, AT&T, etc) have blackberries is a bit ridiculous - other than needing to know how it works, what reason do they have to actually own a $550 phone? And how about the people that sit at a computer all day ... and own one? For what reason do you need a computer in your pocket, and a computer in front of you? Or people complaining about their financial situations ... while they tap tap tap away on their crackberries? No one sees the irony in this? Get the free phone, sell your blackberry on ebay. Bam! At worst - you have half a mortgage payment & you'd save yourself the blackberry data plan every month. If you lose or damage your phone - you could be without a phone or have to pay over twice as much to replace it!

Now, it may seem like I am - but I am NOT judging - I'd prob get one if they weren't as expensive as they are, and I thought my job merited it. For those that actually use them for work - here are some stats:

96% the pilot users stated the device significantly improved their business effectiveness.
83% of users stated the mobile service improved their responsiveness and customer service.
44% direct revenue gains as a result of their increased responsiveness.

According to a recent study by consulting firm AT Kearney, having secure, around-the-clock access to corporate data can increase employee productivity as much as 30%. Wirelessly enabling enterprise applications boosts profitability through reduced cycle times, increased asset utilisation and increased service levels.

I don't feel that I need to be more reachable than my already unlimited text messages and ridiculous amount of minutes a month. I just think everyone been watching a bit too much Entourage or E! news and wants to be a celebrity ( at least feel like one) and what better way than to get the same phone? Only, we don't have that much to schedule, that many people to talk to, or that many people to keep track of! It's just a fact.

Blackberries - even worse than cell phones - turn us into little islands. Isolated islands looking for the next best thing. In the very beginning of "About a Boy," Hugh Grant's character says "All men are islands. And what's more, this is the time to be one. This is an island age. A hundred years ago, for example, you had to depend on other people. No one had TV or CDs or DVDs or home espresso makers. As a matter of fact they didn't have anything cool. Whereas now you can make yourself a little island paradise." The blackberry is the ultimate in island tools! Say you go to a bar, sit with friends, but text or SMS others that aren't there. Check your facebook or twitter, or look up movie times, cause the bar may not be exciting enough for you. Or look up anything on google! The sky is the limit!

I'm not degrading the blackberry - it's a useful tool in the right hands. I'm just wondering why, in this day and age, people without jobs pay for the blackberry phone and data plan -- without batting an eye? When did it become some necessary for us to be so available to one another? When did cell phones with the capacity to go online become a necessity? If you've read this far, I think you've gathered the point: it's not a necessity. It's a want and a pretty silly one at that. If you're not using it for work, you're just wasting your money.

Get you're own Netflix!

I knew it! I saw this on PostSecret.com and immediately thought "jerk!" In my case, however, it's the postal employees. I REGULARLY have problems with my Netflix taking 8-10 days to get back to them, I report them "missing" and then they eventually show up. But the "missing" process now has a 7 day limit before you can report it, and it takes 24 hours after you report it missing for your next movie to push up to ship (which means another day after that to ship). Where I used to enjoy a few movies a week turnaround, I'm lucky if I get the three that I'm supposed to receive even though I watch them immediately!

I reported my issues to Netflix, who asked me to report them to the USPS. I reported them again due to the lack of a response -- before I was called by a very nasty, curt woman at the Downingtown Post Office. She insisted I bring the Netflix to her personally and she would put it in the rotation for that day. Wouldn't ya know - it ended up at Netflix THE NEXT DAY. I'm sure USPS would think this would prove their point, when in reality - it proves mine.

While I was away (Myrtle Beach) - I returned three of my movies, and they were processed overnight. Returned one day, received the next. Obviously this was a completely different post office, and Netflix plant. I gave another movie to a friend that works in King of Prussia, she put it in her work mail, it was also processed overnight. Returned one day, received the next. What is taking an extra 9 days on (on average) for my movies to get back to a company that's in Devon? (Approximately 20 min from me!)

The only movie to be processed this fast through either Downingtown, PA and/or Exton, PA post offices in the last 3 months was the movie I hand-delivered to the post master of Downingtown. After "testing" both mail and netflix, it seems til still be the post office.

So to you people that steal your neighbor's Netflix or (in my case) postal workers that are stealing mine - get your own subscription. It's one of the few things I pay for that I enjoy and can still afford. I've already had enough theft this year.

Are you Sure?

Definitely not a country fan, and never been much into Willie, but he does write a simple & direct song. I heard this one on a soundtrack the loved it.

Are You Sure

Oh, look around you
Look down the bar from you
The lonely faces that you see
Are you sure that this is where you want to be

These are your friends
But are they real friends
Do they love you the same as me
Are you sure that this is where you want to be

You seem in such a hurry to live this kind of life
You've caused so many tears and misery

Look around you, take a good look
And tell me what you see
Are you sure that this is where you want to be

Don't let my tears persuade you, I had hoped I wouldn't cry
But lately, teardrops seem a part of me

Oh, look around you, take a good look
At all the lonely used-to-be's
Are you sure that this is where you want to be

~Willie Nelson~